TV review: Ireland's Wild Islands is a rare gem

Eoin Warner has walked the walk — and he has a voice that puts him up there as Ireland's answer to David Attenborough

Eoin Warner, host of Ireland's Wild Islands, aboard a Galway Hooker

Wildlife shows are a comfort blanket for Irish people my age. Back in the one-channel days, if you didn’t live near enough to the east coast, you might find yourself watching The Riordans with your parents, or even Mart and Market, if they forgot to put you to bed. Along with knowing the price of hoggets at Bandon Mart, you knew there must be a better world out there.

You’d get a whiff of this watching shows like Amuigh Faoin Spéir presented by Éamon de Buitléir — beautifully crafted half-hours, with a voice-over that seemed to spring from the landscape.